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If you walk the streets of Vietnam, you will get bombarded with an array of amazing smells from the abundance of street food all around you. One famous street foods that not only can you smell, but hear is Banh Xeo.

Vietnamese Sizzling Crepe / Pancake (Banh Xeo)

Vietnamese Sizzling Crepe / Pancake (Banh Xeo)

Banh Xeo is Vietnamese sizzling crepe or sizzling pancake. It is named for the loud sizzling sound it makes when the rice batter hits a hot skillet. This savory thin pancake is filled with thin slices of pork belly, whole shrimp, mung beans, and bean sprouts. Once the pancake is crispy on all sides, it’s folded over with a spatula and slide onto a serving platter and served with a variety of fresh vegetables and Vietnamese herbs and a side of fish sauce dipping sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham).

Traditionally, Banh Xeo is eaten with the hands. You tear off a piece of Banh Xeo, wrap it in lettuce and other assorted Vietnamese herbs, and dip it into the dipping sauce.

Banh Xeo batter is made from a mixture of rice flour, coconut milk and turmeric powder.

When I make Banh Xeo at home, I usually get the premix Banh Xeo flour and make a few adjustments. I add a bit more rice flour to make it crispier, a bit more turmeric powder for a yellower color, and dash of MSG (optional) and salt. Everything is mix together with a bit of water and coconut milk.

I also discover recently that the addition of egg makes the batter richer and crispier. The egg yolk provides the richness while the egg white helps with the crispiness when fried. The egg yolk also makes the batter yellower without using too much turmeric.

Vietnamese Sizzling Crepe / Pancake (Banh Xeo) Batter

If you get a chance to visit Vietnam, grab a seat on one of the tiny plastic stools at one of the street vendor stalls, order a plate of Banh Xeo and a cup of Vietnamese iced coffee (Ca Phe Sua Da). Sit back and enjoy the meal as you watch the beautiful synchronization of mopeds and pedestrians and contemplate how people not get run over more often.

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl and using a large whisk, mix together flour, tumeric powder that came with the flour, additional turmeric powder, rice flour, sea salt, MSG, coconut milk, water and egg until completely disssolved. Add green onions and set aside to rest for at least one hour. The longer the batter rests, the crispier it will be when fried as flour expands.

Clean the pork and shrimp by vigorously rubbing them with salt. Rinse under cold running water and drain dry. Slice pork belly into thin pieces. Marinade shrimp and pork belly with stock powder (1/2 teaspoon each).

In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil on medium high. Add minced garlic and shallot and saute until fragrant. Add pork belly and panfry until evenly cook (about 7-10 minutes). Add shrimp into same pan with the pork and lightly pan fry until no longer translucent (1-2 minutes). Remove pork and shrimp from skillet and set aside.

Put the presoaked mung bean in microwave-safe bowl and fill with water to cover by 1 inch. Place in microwave uncovered and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Drain and set aside.

To make the pancake/crepes, coat a large non-stick skillet with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Ladle in about 1 cup of batter and immediately pick up pan and swirl batter around to cover the bottom and sides of skillet. Add a small amount of sliced onions, mung beans and bean sprouts, pork belly and two shrimp to one side of the pancakes. Cover skillet with lid and cook for 5 minutes on medium high. After 5 minutes, remove lid and allow the pancake to dry out and become crispy. Once you get the desired crispiness and pancake can be loosely shaken from the skillet, use a spatula to fold the pancake in half. Slide pancake onto a serving platter. Repeat wtih remaining batter and ingredients.

Vietnamese Egg Rolls are marinated ground pork rolled in wheat wrappers and deep fried. It can be eaten as a main dish with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham) or as a component to a main dish like Vietnamese Grilled Pork with Vermicelli Noodles (Bun Thit Nuong). Vietnamese egg rolls filling may also include ground shrimp, chopped jicama, shredded carrot and cabbage. This recipe is a basic traditional recipe of ground pork, minced woodear mushroom and thin rice vermicelli noodles.

Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls or, Bánh Cuốn, are thin sheets of steamed rice batter filled with ground pork, jicama and wood ear mushrooms. The rice rolls get a glaze of scallion oil and a sprinkle of crispy fried shallots, then served on a bed of fresh thinly sliced cucumbers, chopped lettuce, Vietnamese herbs, blanched bean sprouts and slices of Vietnamese sausage (Chả Lụa). All of this is served with a side of Vietnamese fish sauce dipping sauce (Nước Mắm Chấm).

Vietnamese Spring Roll or Goi Cuon Tom Thit is a refreshing appetizer made up of shrimp, pork, vermicelli noodles, and an assortment of vegetables rolled in rice paper. They are served at room temperature with a side of peanut dipping sauce or alternatively, Vietnamese fish sauce dipping sauce. This dish is best eaten in Spring and Summer when fresh herbs such as Perilla, Sorrel, and Chinese chives, are plentiful and cheap.

Xiao Long Bao, also known XLB for short or Little Dragon Buns for a literal translation, are steamed dumplings made of ground pork and pork broth. The common question with XLB is how they get the broth inside the dumpling. The answer fascinated me and many others. To get the broth inside the dumpling, the pork broth is made ahead of time from slowly simmering pork bones with skin on them. The broth is then chilled and the gelatin from the pork skins solidifies the pork broth. It is cubed up then mixed together with the ground pork filling. The filling is encased into a thin flour wrapper and then steamed in a bamboo basket.

Banh Trang Nuong, or Vietnamese Pizza, is a popular street food among young people in Vietnam. It resembles pizza with an assortment of fun toppings. However, instead of a thick dough as the base, you have a thin sheet of rice paper. Instead of tomato sauce, you have a quail or chicken egg beaten directly on top of the rice paper and spread evenly. The egg prevents the rice paper from burning, and it serves as a glue for the toppings. There's no right or wrong topping. Some people like to add a Western spin with cheese and cut-up hot dogs. Whereas I like to keep mine very traditional with exotic Southeast Asian flavors, such as fermented shrimp paste (Mam Ruoc), dried pork, and Sriracha sauce.

Banh Khot, or Vietnamese savory mini pancakes, is made from a batter of rice flour, corn starch, tumeric powder and coconut milk. The batter is fried on a cast iron Banh Khot or Aebleskiver frying pan to crispy perfection on the outside and fluffy on the inside. These mini pancakes are topped with shrimp, brushed with scallion oil and sprinkled with a dash of toasted minced dried prawns. They come with a plate stacked high in Vietnamese herbs and a small bowl of spicy and sweet dipping sauce.

Shrimp Egg Roll, Cha Gio Cuon Tom, is a super simple Vietnamese appetizer. It is whole shrimp, marinated in a quick sauce, rolled in egg wrappers and deep fried. It comes with a side of a sweet chili dipping sauce. It's fancy. It's delicious. Best of all, it's super simple to make that is guaranteed to impress a crowd.

Pot stickers are mini meals that are easy to make and easy to eat. The fillings are soft and moist, and the wrapper is thick and chewy. Plus, the dumplings are versatile. You can use any type of ground meat and any type of vegetables. Made too many? Pop the uncooked ones in the freezer and they can keep for months!

Sushi is delicious, but it can get expensive eating out all the time, especially for the fresh and mouth-watering kind of sushi that makes my tummy very happy. I occasionally eat at the Sushi House in Alameda and often get the Lion King roll (baked salmon roll). Every bite is savored as each morsel of the Lion King roll is just pure heavenly goodness.